American manufacturers of steam generating equipment are governed by various codes promulgated by the engineering societies and other jurisdictional bodies among which are the applicable sections of the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, hereinafter referred to as the Code. Section I of the Code embodies rules for construction of power boilers and a recent revision to this section, paragraph PW-16, specifies the minimum requirements for attachment welds to pressure vessels. A commonly used support structure for headers consists of a plate member or lug welded to the header, a pin and clevis engaging the lug and a support rod threaded to the clevis and connected at its opposite end to top steel. The interface between the lug and the header is governed by the Code whereas the support structure itself is designed for stress requirements and allowable loads generally as dictated by the American Institute of Steel Construction. Consequently, in the aforementioned support structure, the lug thickness is governed by bearing stresses at the clevis pin hole. However, to comply with the revised Code, the weld joining the lug to the header must have a throat dimension equal to or greater than seventy-five percent of the lug thickness. The resulting large weld sizes are generally excessive and not necessary for the structural integrity of the connection. Additional disadvantages of large welds are higher fabrication costs and more stringent quality control and non-destructive testing requirements.